


The Talk

by notgeorgelucas



Series: Mothers and Daughters [7]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, mother-daughter moment, turtle ducks man
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:27:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28481646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notgeorgelucas/pseuds/notgeorgelucas
Summary: Poppy has questions. Lin hopes she's got answers.(Another chapter in the "Poppy" AU saga!)
Series: Mothers and Daughters [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/402481
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	The Talk

Poppy laughed as she tossed a handful of breadcrumbs into the air. “Look, Momma,” she called. “The turtle ducks are coming over!”  


“They sure are,” Lin nodded. “Just watch out—they get feisty when the food runs out, and that bag is almost empty.” Watching her daughter’s fun, she had to admit that coming to the park hadn’t been the worst idea. “Take your time, kiddo.”.  


“They’re hungry, Momma!”  


“I’ve got news for you, sweetheart. They’re always going to be hungry, no matter how much you give them.”  


“Like airbenders?” Lin had to laugh at that one; the kid definitely had a sense of humor.  


Alas, all good things had to come to an end, and eventually the bag was empty. Poppy reluctantly left the quacking hordes and sat down next to her mother. “That was fun,” she said firmly. “They’re silly.”  


“Yeah, I suppose they are,” Lin nodded.  


_“It’s a beautiful day, and you’re off for a change,” Pema had declared earlier. “Why don’t you take Poppy to the park and spend some time with her?” She handed Lin a bag of bread crumbs.  
_

_“You know,” Lin said after a moment, “I can afford to feed my kid something better than this.”  
_

_Pema rolled her eyes. “It’s for the turtle ducks, and you know it.”_  


That was the whole thing about living on Air Temple Island instead of in the city, Lin mused as she looked out across the lake. It made sense; Pema could keep an eye on Poppy, and Lin wouldn’t be running back and forth everyday for dropping off and picking up like her own mother had. Most of the time, she corrected herself silently. Mom had a way of losing track of time when she was busy.  


Life on the island had its plusses and minuses, as well as some…unexpected…consequences, but Lin wasn’t complaining. For her part Poppy was thrilled to spend lots of time with Jinora and Ikki. It seemed to be working out, to be honest.  


“You having a good time?” Lin asked her daughter.  


“Uh-huh.” Poppy had that “thoughtful” look on her face, which meant whatever was coming next would be a doozy. “Momma?”  


“What is it, kiddo?”  


“When am I going to start earthbending?”  


“…what?” Lin said a moment later.  


“Jinora’s airbending,” Poppy pointed out logically. “I’m her age—so when will I start earthbending?”  


“Umm.” Definitely a doozy, one Lin hadn’t seen coming. “Poppy…” she said after a moment. “What makes you think you’re an earthbender?”  


Poppy frowned. “You’re my momma, and you’re an earthbender, so I thought…”  


_Oh spirits._ “No, sweetheart,” Lin said as gently as possible. “I’m afraid you’re not an earthbender. But you know, your Aunt Pema isn’t a bender. Neither are your cousins Opal or Bataar.” Lin adamantly refused to call the boy ‘Junior’; she’d pointed out to her sister on several occasions that the kid deserved his own name and identity. “And they’re all wonderful, aren’t they?”  


Fortunately, the little girl was taking all this news in stride, thank the spirits. “Oh. Okay,” she said thoughtfully, then looked up at Lin again. “Momma…who is my daddy?”  


_Oh shit!_ Lin winced; she’d known this was going to come up at some point, but was hoping it wouldn’t be until Poppy was older, say 65 or so. But given Lin’s own situation and history, the irony of the question wasn’t lost on her. So, taking a page from the _‘what would Mom have done? Do the opposite’_ guide to parenting that Su had suggested, she took a deep breath and smiled. “I don’t know,” she said, immediately cursing herself for the answer. That wasn’t much better than her mother’s ‘why does it matter’ response, was it?  


“You don’t?” Poppy asked, confused.  


_Crap crap crap. This was supposed to be a nice and peaceful afternoon!_ “Well…” Lin tried to find the right words…and failed miserably. “You see,” she finally said in a shaky voice, “I…your momma died when you were just a baby, sweetheart, and I found you.”  


“I’m an orphan?” Poppy said after a moment of deep thought.  


“Yes.”  


“Like Little Orphan Aiko?”  


_Who the hell was Little Orphan Aiko…oh, wait. The radio program, right._ “A lot like that, yes. But I saw you and…well, I thought we were meant to be together.”  


“Okay.” Poppy looked out at the lake. “I think so too. I guess Jinora was wrong.”  


“Oh? What did Jinora say?”  


“She thought that Uncle Tenzin was my daddy. I didn’t think so, though.”  


Lin chuckled. “Definitely not, kiddo.”  


She suddenly lunged at Lin and hugged her tightly. “I love you, Momma.”  


“I love you too, kiddo,” Lin replied, a little overwhelmed at how effortlessly the words came out. “So,” she said a moment later, “you want to get some ice cream before we go back?”  


“Aunt Pema says it’ll spoil our appetite for dinner,” Poppy said solemnly, though her eyes looked hopeful.  


Lin smiled. “You know, I’ll bet that if we buy some for her too, Aunt Pema will give us a pass this time.”  


Poppy took her mother’s hand as they strolled to the park exit. “Momma?”  


“Hmmm?”  


“When is Jinora going to get a bison?”  


“I don’t know, kiddo. I think that’s kind of up to the bison.”  


“She thinks she’s old enough.”  


“I’m sure she does.”  


“Baby bison look really dumb.”  


“Yeah, I’m afraid so. They grow out of it eventually.”  


“How did Uncle Tenzin get Oogi?”  


“You should ask him. He loves to tell stories.”  


“I KNOW….”


End file.
